Self-Determination and Legal Capacity: Developments in the USA on Supported Decision-Making for Persons with Intellectual and Psychosocial Disabilities

In light of global advances stimulated by the 2006 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Professor Blanck will discuss law, policy and research developments in the USA.

This is a free event however registration is required in advance.

There will be a reception after the lecture.

Self-determination and the right to make choices are key elements for a meaningful and independent life. Yet, older adults and people with disabilities often are placed in overly broad and restrictive guardianships, denying them their right to make daily life choices about where they live and who they interact with, their finances, and their health care. Supported decision-making (SDM)—where people use trusted friends, family members, and professionals to help them understand the situations and choices they face, so they may make their own decisions—is a means for increasing self-determination to the maximum extent possible. In light of global advances stimulated by the 2006 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Professor Blanck will discuss law, policy and research developments in the USA and elsewhere on the use of SDM to increase self-determination. Professor Blanck prepared an expert report and testified in the Jenny Hatch case (Ross v. Hatch, 2013), which was a groundbreaking legal case to promote understanding of SDM and human flourishing at critical transitions over the life course and across the spectrum of disability. 

For Dr. Blanck’s paper, “The Right to Make Choices”: The National Resource Center for Supported Decision-Making. Inclusion, Vol. 3, No. 1, 24–33 (with Martinis, 2015), see: http://supporteddecisionmaking.org/sites/default/files/inclusion_blanck_maritinis_2015.pdf

See also: Peter Blanck. (2016). The First “A” in the ADA: And 25 More "A"s Toward Equality for Americans with Disabilities. Inclusion, Vol. 4, No. 1, 46–51, at:http://bbi.syr.edu/news_events/news/2016/03/Blanck%202016%20ADA%20Special%20Issue%202%20Inclusion.pdf 

Dr. Peter Blanck, Ph.D., J.D., is University Professor at Syracuse University, which is the highest faculty rank granted to eight prior individuals in the history of the University. He is Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University (http://bbi.syr.edu). BBI reaches around the globe in efforts to advance the civic, economic, and social participation of people with disabilities. The institute builds on the legacy of Burton Blatt, a pioneering disability rights scholar in the USA, to better the lives of people with disabilities. BBI has offices in Syracuse, New York, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr. Blanck received a Juris Doctorate from Stanford University, where he was President of the Stanford Law Review, and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Harvard University. He is an Honorary Professor, at the Centre for Disability Law & Policy, at the National University of Ireland, Galway.

Blanck has written over 200 articles and books on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related laws. He has received tens of millions of dollars in grants to study disability law and policy. Blanck is co-editor of the Cambridge University Press book series, Disability Law and Policy.

Blanck also is Chairman of the Global Universal Design Commission (GUDC: http://www.globaluniversaldesign.org) and President of Raising the Floor USA (RtF: https://raisingthefloor.org) . He is a former member of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. Prior to teaching, Blanck practiced law at the Washington D.C. firm Covington & Burling, and served as law clerk to the late 
Honorable Carl McGowan of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

In 2015, Dr. Blanck received the Distinguished Service Award from NARRTC (formerly known as the U.S. National Association of Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers), given to individuals who have made inspiring life-time contributions to the field of disability through research, teaching, service, and advocacy.